


A Spark To Ignite

by harborshore



Category: Alternate Universe - Crossover - Fandom, Hockey RPF, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-06 13:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3136562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harborshore/pseuds/harborshore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Jonny's fourth summer at Camp Halfblood when a son of Aphrodite arrives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Spark To Ignite

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aohatsu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aohatsu/gifts).



> Ah, I had so much fun writing this. It's a lot longer in my head, including at least fifteen more fights and an even more epic battle, but I had to reign it in hard. Who knows though, the bits that remain of the longer fic may yet make it into a full-length story. (I did, after all, make a giant list of hockey players and which god might have been their parent...)

"I don't know who taught you about tactics when you were out, like, fucking flirting yourself to safety," Jonny hisses, "but I've been here for four years and I'm telling you, that's a stupid plan."

Patrick shoves him. "Does no one ever tell you to shove it?" he spits. "You can't seriously--misdirection isn't exactly advanced tactics, and I'm telling you, they're going to see that coming, which is why we should try my idea instead of yours."

At this point, Carey speaks up, which he never does, but he looks unusually irritated. "Why don't we put it to a vote," he says tersely. "Seeing as how we'll lose by default if the game starts without us."

So they vote, and Patrick smirks when it goes his way. Fuck him, anyway, he probably cheated, but Jonny doesn't say so.

To add insult to injury, they win the fight. 

"Not bad," he says grudgingly to Patrick after. They fought on different flanks, but Patrick must have acquitted himself better than the kids of Aphrodite normally do, since the other team didn't break through there and Jonny knows for a fact that Sidney and Hilary together make for a formidable team.

\--

A month and a half has gone by when Jonny wakes to the alarm. It's been a year and a half since the camp was last attacked, and it usually doesn't happen in the summer when they're all there (they may be children, but they're still demigods, and a full camp isn't exactly easy to fight against). Luckily Jonny's well-drilled in night attacks, rolling out of bed and grabbing his sword and shield from underneath the bed before he's even opened his eyes. 

He emerges from the cabin with Ben Scrivens at his back, Julie bringing up the rear. Chaos greets them, fire and explosions up ahead and everywhere the sounds of war. Jonny swallows before straightening and directing the rest of Cabin Six into the fray where it looks like they can be of the most use, then he sends a quiet prayer to his mom before making straight for the fire. It looks like Aphrodite's cabin's taken the brunt of the attack, which makes no sense at all, since she doesn't generally get directly involved.

He gets there to find Patrick single-handedly holding off a group of chimeras but he's favoring his left wrist and Jonny doesn't hesitate before rushing forward to his side.

"I've got you," he says, and brings his shield up, holding it in his right hand so he's covering Patrick. Luckily he can fight just as well with either hand. 

"Good," Patrick bites off. If Jonny wasn't so busy fighting off chimeras and a stray cyclops he'd compliment him on his fighting skills. He's seen Patrick fight before, of course, a month of fighting instruction and Capture the Flag together will do that, but he's never seen him fight like this. Swift, unbelievably slick bladework, and together they're more than a match for the last two cyclops, especially once the rest of the cabin rallies around them.

"They must have sent them after you all because they think Aphrodite's powers are weaker," Jonny says, trying to get his breath back as they rush to head off what seems to be the second major group of the attacking force.

"Yeah," Patrick says. "Or because my mom pissed them off." He sounds tired. "She's not real good at making nice."

"Isn't she all about love?" Jonny says. "That's nice, I thought."

"Love," Patrick says, weaving into a group of light-skinned ghoul-looking fighters and dispatching them quickly. Jonny follows at his back, killing three that are all gunning for Patrick and were about to go for him at the same time. "Love," Patrick repeats shaking his head. "Love's, like. Enormous and difficult and, you know. Sometimes people don't like each other even if they're in love. Sometimes people cheat. Maybe she did something to someone's kid and they decided to go after her kids."

This turns out to be the case: after the battle is over and Mario can investigate, he finds out that Aphrodite had broken up what was by all accounts a fairly awful, loveless marriage between two lesser gods, but one of them had taken offense and rallied some of the beasts and villains that hadd been wronged by Camp Halfblood in the past years.

"I'm just glad everyone is okay," Mario finishes his explanation, rubbing his forehead. Jonny looks down at his hands and then over at Patrick, who is sitting at his table looking miserable. He told Jonny last night that his dad cheated on his stepmom with Aphrodite. 

"And then they stayed together anyway," he said, shaking his head like he didn't get it.

"Are they good together though?" Jonny said, feeling very out of his depth.

"Yeah," Patrick said, shrugging. "But, you know, he cheated."

"Sometimes--" Jonny broke off, trying to figure out what to say. "Sometimes love is bigger than that, isn't it? What was it you said - enormous and difficult?"

Patrick's mouth twisted a little like he's trying not to smile. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I have three little sisters that I wouldn't have otherwise, which is really nice." 

Jonny grinned. "I can imagine," he said. "And she adopted you, right?" 

"Yeah," Patrick said, looking down at his hand and finally smiling for real. "She did, and it was. She's really great." 

Jonny knocked their shoulders together. "So's my dad," he said. "And it'd be nice to have a regular mom, I think, even if I like Athena a lot."

Now he looks over at Patrick, trying to catch his eye. If it was an awful marriage, there's no reason for Patrick to feel bad, but Patrick looks upset anyway.

Jonny catches up to him after the camp-wide assembly.

"Everyone's okay," he says decisively. "You need to stop beating yourself up."

Patrick looks up at him. "Says who?" 

"Says me," Jonny says.

"Who made you the boss, huh?" Patrick says, but he's grinning, and when they walk back to the cabins together he walks a little closer to Jonny. 

"Hey," Jonny says when they're at Cabin Six. "Want to, like. Practice extra together?"

"You mean fighting?" 

"Yeah, and tactics, and. That kind of thing."

Patrick smiles, and Jonny's mouth goes all dry. He doesn't know how he ever thought Patrick's Aphrodite-infused smile was nicer than this one. "That'd be nice, Jonny." he says. "Let's do it. Before breakfast?" He cracks up at Jonny's dismayed look. "Okay, okay, after lunch. Just because some people can't get up in the morning."

"Morning people," Jonny grumbles, but he can't help but be caught in the happiness of Patrick's laughter and thinks to himself - very, very quietly - that Patrick, as annoying and superior and awkward and stupid-looking as he can be, is more beautiful than any of the other children of Aphrodite. Or anyone else in the camp, for that matter.

But he's hardly going to tell Patrick that. Instead, he jostles him, ruffles his hair and takes off running down the hill, Patrick in pursuit, and the ensuing wrestling takes three hours before any of them admit defeat. (What happens when Patrick ends the fight by kissing Jonny, well, that's another story entirely.)


End file.
